The ability to perceive other people’s feelings and thoughts is a process we call empathy. And there is actually a way that we can become more attuned to the inner lives of others; it’s reading. We consume reading materials every day, but the type of material that you consume has an impact on your ability to empathize with others in real life.

Scientific American reports of a study in which researchers at The New School in New York City conducted a study in which participants were asked to read literary fiction, genre fiction, nonfiction, or nothing. They were then asked to complete a test that measured their ability to understand other’s emotions. The study found that people who had read the literary fiction were the group that was most capable of understanding other’s emotions.

In another study that The Washington Post reported on, researchers asked participants which author’s names they recognized. The theory was that people who read more would know more names of authors. Similar to the study reported in Scientific American, those who knew more names scored higher on prosocial behaviors. And this study also concluded that literary fiction had more ability to influence empathy than genre fiction.

You might be wondering why literary fiction has so much more of an impact than genre fiction and nonfiction. One of the key components to literary fiction is an increased focus on the inner lives of the characters. In contrast, genre fiction focuses on plot twists and physical objects. Similarly, most nonfiction doesn’t delve into inner lives, either.

But it’s not just reading great books that make us more empathetic. It’s also the way that we read them. Fiction can be immersive, and when we immerse ourselves in the lives of characters, this primes us to be more attuned to the lives of others. When we read a novel that is built with characters with experiences that are different from our own, we can then transfer these skills to other parts of our lives.

If you want to become more aware of other’s lives, stories are a great way to gain this skill. Reading stories is a way of reminding ourselves that not everyone’s lives are exactly like our own. We all have our own struggles, and we all see the world from a different perspective.

When we are talking about literacy, most people think about educating young kids from the age of 3 to let’s say 10. Well, that might be partially right, but there is something that people are missing out and forgetting about and that would be the promotion of adult literacy. Promoting literacy in adults is equally important as promoting it in early childhood. People all around the world should know how to speak, read and write in their native language because it is necessary in order to be a part of the society.

Adults who are not educated in that level and are not capable of reading or writing will have a really hard time fitting in. If you ever want to have a real and legal job, you will need this education. That’s one of the reasons why we have to promote adult literacy, people are not getting any regular jobs because they don’t have the fundamentals down. In this article, we will be talking about some of the great benefits of literacy and what it can mean to adults in their life.

Finding a Regular Job

The first and main problem that adults who are not educated have is finding a regular job position because most if not all employers will have the requirement to read and write. A lot of not educated people will have no other choice but to find illegal jobs to make some money. You should never choose that path in life, when you have the option to work an illegal job, then you also have the option to find education and improve your literacy skills. It is all just a matter of personal choice because when you are an adult, nobody will run after you or beg you to improve your literacy skills. If you don’t want, you can refuse to get educated, but that will come with a variety of problems, especially in adult life.

Political Participation

Some people will choose on purpose not to vote and they are making a huge mistake because it shows a bad example for younger generations. Voting is important because you have the option to contribute something to your country by selecting the right person to be on top. Not voting is like you say you don’t care about your human rights and they can do whatever they want to you. Literacy can definitely help you start voting because for this you will need how to read and write which are the two essential parts of literacy.

Reading Books

One of the greatest things in life is books because they offer a unique look into a life that doesn’t need to be completely serious. There are a lot of people who find a safe space when reading books and they will learn a lot from reading. No matter what type of books you like reading you can always improve your skills and learn something new from them. Even your literacy skills can further improve, and you might become an author yourself one day if you find it interesting.

Most parents are aware of the fact that promoting literacy in early childhood is important, but still, some parents decide not to focus on helping their children to master the language and to have a great foundation. One thing you might not know about your child is that they started learning the language long before they were born because they are able to listen to voices even inside the womb. That’s why it is very important that you as the parent spend some time alone and just talk to your baby even if it is still unborn.

Every parent has the dream of having successful kids who will help them out later on in life. Well if you are not motivated or you just don’t care about helping your child to develop language skills early on, then that dream will most likely fall right down the drain because language is the first and most essential skill they will need in life. Here is some professional advice coming from us why you need to promote literacy in early childhood and what are some of the benefits of doing so.

Responsibility

As a parent, you are responsible to take good care of your child and if you fail to do so, your child might be taken away from you. Of course, this happens only on very rare occasions when the parents are drug addicts or have some mental disease that doesn’t allow them to properly raise their children. However, if you are completely sober and normal person, then you shouldn’t have any problem raising your child properly. Some people don’t understand what raising your child properly really means, so let us explain it to you. It means that not only you have to take care of their health, but also you need to do various other things such as educating them.

The first part of education that you will have to do is teaching your kids to speak the language. It is on you to decide how many and which languages will they learn early on. If you speak to them constantly in their native language, they will learn only that and of course, there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you want to have successful children you will want to teach them as many languages as possible. Of course, if you are not speaking any other language, then there is nothing you can teach them. Other than teaching them how to speak and understand the language, it is crucial that they learn how to read, write and even count using that language.

Adult Life Struggles

If you are an adult who doesn’t have the skills to read or write in your native language, then you most definitely had some struggles during your life. no matter where you go, people will ask you to read or write something down. Getting a job isn’t possible if you don’t have the literacy skills, that’s why it is crucial that you start learning and adapting to today’s society.